PA libel: Israel using chemicals
to ruin Al-Aqsa Mosque's foundations
and plans Temple in its place

by Itamar Marcus

Israel is using chemicals to erode the foundations of Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to cause it to collapse, claimed a news story on Palestinian Authority TV. The report cited "experts" who stated that Israel's use of chemicals is part of its "step-by-step plan" to destroy the mosque.

Already in 2009, then PA Chief Religious Justice Tayseer Tamimi claimed that Al-Aqsa is "hanging in midair" due to Israel's injecting "chemical acids" to dissolve the mosque's foundations:

"The [Israeli] excavations' purpose is to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In fact, its foundations have been removed. Chemical acids were injected into the rocks to dissolve them. The soil and the pillars [were moved] so the mosque is hanging in midair. There is an Israeli plan to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to build the Temple."

Israeli Arab Islamic leader, Raed Salah, head of the northern branch of the Islamic movement in Israel, recently reiterated this same libel on PA TV that Israel is destroying Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to build the third Temple:

"The Israeli occupation sees itself in the stage of the final countdown before the building of the legendary false holy Temple at the expense of the Al-Aqsa Mosque."

The following is the full text from PA TV news warning that Israel is destroying Al-Aqsa Mosque, followed by an excerpt from the PA daily promoting the same libel:

PA TV news:

PA TV news host: "Experts on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem issues warned that there are traces of chemicals under Al-Aqsa, which the occupation authorities are using in intensified excavations around the foundations of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to dissolve them."Narrator: "Israel's policies and schemes have never stopped and will never stop in Al-Aqsa's courtyards and surroundings in order to harm [the Mosque's] Arabness and holiness. What is new this time is the discovery of traces of dangerous chemicals in the Al-Aqsa foundations and [the discovery of] other solvents used to cause the foundations to crumble and collapse in accordance with [Israel's] step-by-step plans."

[PA TV (Fatah) Aug. 3, 2012]

The official PA daily:

"The expert on Al-Aqsa mosque structure and Jerusalem Affairs, Engineer Jammal Amr, has warned that traces of dangerous chemicals have been found in the foundations of the Al-Aqsa mosque. He also emphasized that Israeli occupation forces use substances that induce dissolving in their excavations under Al-Aqsa, in order to fracture the [mosque's] foundations and bring about its collapse... There are [Israeli] specialists spreading the chemicals at night, and removing the traces during the day. In addition, he emphasized that this [Israeli] attack on the Al-Aqsa mosque is the most audacious of the last three years, and that ever since Jerusalem was declared a capital of Arab culture in 2009, the occupation authorities have embarked on a dramatic offensive to Judaize the city and utterly erase its original [Arab] landmarks.
Ammar emphasized that the recurring incursions by settlers (i.e., Jews visiting the Temple Mount) are carried out under the auspices of the occupation government and with its blessing, and that the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa mosque is grievously defiled by functionaries implementing the schemes of the occupation."